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Known for fostering success, innovation and ethics in the iGaming industry, the Starlet Awards recognise the achievements of the most cutting-edge companies and B2B service providers in the sector. The judges are specially selected professionals with extensive knowledge and experience to determine which candidates provide the best products and services. 

In Digitain’s Head of Marketing Aregnaz Hakobyan’s words, “It’s an incredible thrill to be once again internationally recognised for the work we collectively put hearts in.” 

Congratulations to all the other winners and special thanks to the organisers and judges! 

Digitain Group R&D Director Peter Nolan speaks to Gambling Insider about the company’s future in the US, the LatAm market and Luís Figo playing football on an Armenian roof.

Where is Digitain right now in the market and where does it want to be?

It’s in a good state. We’ve just come out of a good conference. We’re looking to expand our global footprint in regulated markets; that’s our target. We’re building sales teams in Latin America and Asia to help support that, and the general sales team has doubled in the region in the last 18 months. We’ve got some good products; in particular, we launched the new platform called Centrivo in the summer and it has had a big impact – so we’re in good shape platform wise. It’s got some really good verticals, support and a lot of tools for the operators: like CRM and an integrated payment gateway, content management system, etc. We bumped up the tools and the whole stability and flexibility of it, where people can quickly change the website and mobile sites to suit their brand. That has been successful so far.

What about the core products?

We upgraded our sportsbook, which is our hero product. Digitain started out in this industry with shops in Armenia and a sports betting B2C. Sports betting was our original business, so we have a large team of traders and risk management people, with algorithms – we’ve upgraded that recently so it’s ready for the World Cup. Also, we launched our online casino studio in the last few months and have signed up over 50 partners on the live casino. That’s a completely new studio built in our Digitain headquarters, which is a state-of-the-art building housing over 2,000 people now. We’re also building another studio so we can offer some more bespoke services to clients.

In terms of sports betting, how interested are you in the US market right now?

It’s on our radar at some point in the future. There are certainly plenty of opportunities there as the various new regulated markets open up. Right now, we have plenty to do, plenty on and are focused on Central European, LatAm and Asian markets. Looking at it, there’s a fight going on in the US, people spending a lot of money in terms of operations, while most people are cutting down on that to save money. However, we’re confident we will achieve growth there over time.

So LatAm is a bigger focus for you in the near future, then?

Yeah, but we want to go into the regulated markets, too. I worked in Brazil for a couple of years, so I know it quite well. We have a couple of good people that work there for us, who are talking to the regulators a lot in Brazil and Argentina. We want to get our products certified for these areas; that’s our aim. However, right now, we’re focused on getting more visibility.

In terms of visibility, it must be great for the brand to have Luís Figo as an ambassador, which Gambling Insider exclusively revealed back in July.

Yes, that’s a big statement for us and our B2B suppliers, as well. Obviously, you get a lot of B2C people with advocates and footballers. So, for our B2B supplier to get him was a big statement. It’s a bit like our show at ICE London: every year it’s a bit bigger, a bit better and represents the confidence we have in the business.

Digitain’s new Group COO, Armine Sirunyan, speaks to Gambling Insider about her new role within the business and the company’s plans for 2023 and beyond.

Congratulations on your appointment! What was your first thought when you found out you were going to become Group COO?

Excitement! There is a great deal still to achieve and I’m so looking forward to working with colleagues from across the organisation to ensure our continued success. I’m also very thankful to be given this opportunity to continue my journey with this progressive organisation in such an important role.

What is your biggest target as Digitain COO?

There are many and all of them are big and undertaken with strong determination. I would outline, that I am strongly committed to driving continual improvement in how we serve our partners and how we support our teams in ensuring that we deliver the very best standards of customer experience. I would also highlight balancing efficiency with effectiveness – ensuring that all systems and processes across the business are optimised – especially those “moments of truth” that make the real difference to our partners.

How has working at Digitain changed since you joined the company?

We see the advancement of technology in an enormous speed every single day and across all the aspects of our life, which is as well reflected in our work. Saying this, we are now integrating and using machine learning and AI across all our products and services.  Our global footprint has grown significantly as we expand our geography and move into more regulated markets. This in its turn drives us to furnishing our products and services with more market specific functionals and solutions.

Another significant change to me, as to a person who has spent with the company around a decade, is the size and the scale of the team. It used to be a team of few hundreds, and now we have a workforce of over 2000. And it is not only the numbers that matter. I am very proud to see that we have built a diverse and multifunctional team covering various professions, talents and new directions. Another change I would highlight, is the complexity of products. Digitain used to be a sportsbook-oriented provider-sportsbook being the first product it introduced to the market. Now we are a multi-vector business, offering wider range of products and solutions and continuously heading towards new business directions.   

Finally, what are the company’s biggest goals for 2023?

We follow through our goal to enter more regulated markets globally and expand our geographical presence. This, in its turn, drives us to constantly developing our product base – including live casino, sportsbook, payment gateway and RGS.

We are very much focused on creation and development of our in-house products, and ensuring that those are equipped with constantly evolving, top-notch and competitive features.  Some of our in-house products have succeeded to an extent that they have grown into stand-alone companies and are creating their own success path.

As a client- centric company, we are committed to putting our best effort, our in-house expertise and knowledge to facilitate the sustainable growth and development of the business of our partners. We keep on being innovative and taking every opportunity to delight our new and existing partners with new offerings that will reinforce their competitive position in the market. And last, but not the least, we have an ultimate vision to grow the technical skill base in Armenia (as a centre of excellence) via company initiatives such as M1TQ.

Digitain’s Zohrab Karapetyan talks exclusively to G3 magazine about the company’s expectations of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and his plans to deliver a special sportsbook experience.

What opportunities does the upcoming World Cup present the sports betting industry?

We expect betting levels to significantly exceed those seen in the 2018 tournament. If you look at the betting history of the World Cup, the betting turnover has grown over every tournament since Italia ’90 and we do not feel this pattern will change.

It has been estimated that the total amount of bets placed globally on the 2018 World Cup Finals exceeded €130 billion, an average per match of €2.1 billion, with over €7 billion being gambled on the France v Croatia final. That is spectacular and just underlines the popularity of football across the world.

Since then, a number of significant new markets have been regulated and interest in football continues to grow, so we are confident that, despite this tournament being the first one to be held in winter, the 2022 World Cup will beat all records for betting handle.

Excitement for the Qatar World Cup has been comparatively muted, namely due to the human rights abuses committed in the region, the excessive cost of travel and tickets, a disrupted domestic calendar, and the sweltering heat that is likely impact on the quality of matches being played. Nonetheless, does the tournament have the potential to still be an engaging and entertaining betting experience?

We’re confident that this year’s tournament will deliver some great viewing and betting experiences, with regular bettors on premium football switching to betting on the tournament.

There could be some impact on the dynamic nature of the games, given the heat of Qatar, even at his time, but I think the levels of excitement of watching the world’s best teams will overcome any potential obstacles. It’s going to be a wonderful spectacle, in my opinion.

Do you anticipate greater betting engagement rates than Russia four years ago? 

From a Digitain perspective, our partner network has grown significantly since the last World Cup, so we will obviously see much higher volumes being processed through our platform than previously. However, as stated above, we still feel that our World Cup 2022 organic growth with be significant over the previous competition.

How will overall betting spend on the tournament be impacted by the cost-of-living crisis? As mortgage payments continue to rise, energy bills soar and with Christmas around the corner, how will sports betting handle be impacted? 

Traditionally, sports betting tends to be recession-proof to a large extent, although the global economic picture this year may test that theory.  However, I think the World Cup is such an iconic tournament, with high-profile games coming thick and fast, that the overall spend will still increase over previous tournaments.

 It would not be surprising if this year’s World Cup generates over €250 billion in stakes, with football fans ignoring the controversies surrounding the event and focusing on the spectacle.

How have operator partners approached the winter tournament differently to a traditional summer event? What have been the biggest hurdles with the different timing?

The games are being played at 6pm and 11pm locally, which is reasonably attractive from a European, African, Asian and even North and South American betting fan’s perspective, fairly similar to current domestic league timing – so our partners are not expecting too much disruption to their normal operational processes.

From a partner perspective – there will be an obvious impact on the expected betting handle on the domestic football leagues, especially the key European ones; the Premier League, the Bundesliga, Primera Liga and Serie A, that all plan to take a six week break when the World Cup is on. However, this should balance out as the postponed games will be squeezed into an extended season ending later than usual at the end of May 2023.

What betting trends are you anticipating for this World Cup? Are we likely to see a greater focus on outright betting or bet builders? 

Outright betting is always popular on football tournaments, particularly the World Cup where you see lots of “patriotic” bets, especially if the team have a successful run in the competition and the nation and media get behind them.

From an operator perspective, the key period for revenue in the tournament is the Group stage where we they will see the most money bet per day, due, of course, to the number of games being played. As the tournament progresses the games become more spread out and there is less daily betting activity. 

What features, products and innovations have you lined up to coincide with the World Cup?

We understand the importance of the World Cup for our partners, so we have been busy preparing some new offers, promotions and additional content for them to ensure their players remain engaged and loyal for the duration of the tournament.

We have developed a World Cup Predictor game that operators can customise to suit their marketplace and can reward their players with prizes or free bets.

As well as this, we have launched a new World Cup Player Tournament application, allowing our partners’ players to participate and win prizes based on their skills in predicting and betting on the competition results.

We have a wealth of new bonuses, bet boosters and promos dedicated for the competition – one of my favourites is our “2 Goal Early Pay-out” offer, where we will settle bets as winners if a team goes ahead in a match. It applies to both singles and multi bets – so is bound to be a winner with players who like to re-invest.

Finally, your pick of this year’s winner…

I think England will have good tournament despite recent form, but France may find it is very difficult to defend the trophy –it hasn’t been done since Brazil in 1962.

Belgium at 16/1 and Croatia at 50/1 a are good each-way bets, but I might have a small bet on Argentina at around 7/1 to win – they always turn up at the big tournaments.

Digitain are pleased to announce that we have won Platform of the Year at the prestigious SiGMA Europe 2022 Awards, held in Malta on 14th November.

The SiGMA Awards are one of the most prestigious events in the iGaming industry, recognising excellence in operators, suppliers and affiliates globally.

Aregnaz Hakobyan, Digitain’s Head of Marketing Department commented, “We are delighted to be recognised by SiGMA for the high standards and effectiveness of Centrivo, our iGaming Platform.

Congratulations and thanks to every member of our team who have worked tirelessly to develop Centrivo. It is wonderful for their efforts to be recognised by SiGMA, and we thank the organisers and judges for this great honour.

Congratulations also to all the other award winners, at what was a tremendous event.”

The FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar promises to be a festival of football as well as a global betting bonanza.

Sportsbook operators who plan ahead can make the most of this exciting opportunity, delight their existing players and also look to recruit a whole new group of customers, possibly inspired to open an account and have a bet on their national teams.

Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail – so here’s our 7 Top Tips for having a successful World Cup Tournament.

Lock it down

Ensure that everything on your site, mobile or otherwise, is working to maximum effectiveness. Expect to see record traffic, especially in the group stages when players can bet on four lives games per day, so your sportsbook needs to run like a well-oiled machine. Make sure all your teams are fully staffed and absolutely focused on the user experience being delivered. Have a development / release freeze at least a week before the tournament and ensure no planned changes are made to the operation and the technology.

Content IS king

Make sure you “signpost” daily the key matches taking place, as well as the key betting opportunities. Expect to see registrations from more recreational players, driven by the TV and media coverage of the event.

Bets on the Group Winners and to Win the Tournament are often driven by patriotism, and some good results, so make sure these can be found easily.

As well as providing lots of betting events, give players additional, added-value content to enhance their experience. Information such as squad and team selection, live updates and real-time animations: perfect for a mobile first audience.

Sell the sizzle…

The tournament is a great opportunity to recruit new players to your platform. Your marketing strategy needs to be planned well in advance, focusing on activities where you are strongest. Look to drive recruitment through attractive odds, free bet offers and compelling, professional daily (if not even more frequently) communication

2022 – the first proper “social media” World Cup?

The potential for positive social media impact on your revenues for World Cup 2022 is huge. It is worth having full-time representation on the key channels locally, monitoring activity, responding to player questions and promoting exciting betting opportunities. Develop and deliver a strategy, don’t wait until the day to decide. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest – whichever you choose, make sure you have a plan and deliver with enthusiasm and creativity.

Bonuses and promotions work

Don’t forget your loyal players. Make sure you plan for activity to retain and to reactivate these important segments of your database. It is always more effective to successfully get a player to re-engage with the brand, than to recruit a brand-new customer.

Betting tournaments are a great way to drive and reward loyalty, so make sure these are part of your plans.

Once again, frequent, useful communication with your customer base, highlighting reasons for them to re-visit, must be planned and executed with skill and flair. Use bonuses and free bets to encourage return visits.

It matters more when there’s money on it!

There will be so much competing activity in your market for the FIFA 2022 World Cup – operators will need to stand-out. Be different, resist competing solely on the odds you provide and consider the overall player experience you deliver.

At Digitain we have developed some unique betting markets to help our operators stand out in the local regions. Offer some of these great offers, such as Goals Ahead Early Payout, Odds Booster, and other special markets, to engage, delight and drive loyalty.

Engagement tools, such as a World Cup predictor, is another marvelous opportunity to promote your brand and both recruit and retain valuable players into your business.

Finally

Go big, or go home…

You’re in the betting business, so make sure you have an unbeatable range of pre-game and live betting events on this fantastic tournament. Where you can, promote your local international teams competing. Settle bets accurately and speedily – this aspect of the service is a real “moment of truth” for players, whether established or new.

Leading iGaming software solutions supplier, Digitain, are delighted to announce that they have partnered with Spribe in order to add their original and innovative portfolio of Turbo Games to the Digitain operator network.

For Digitain, Ashot Sahakyan, International Relations Director, explained, “Fast games have been one of our recent hero products, in terms of popularity, growth in revenues and in bringing a new demographic to our partners’ operations and we are pleased to build on this success by adding Spribe’s signature collection of Turbo Games to our platform.

Spribe’s portfolio of nine exciting and engaging games combine new easy-to-understand mechanics with ground-breaking features that will further drive social interaction and stimulate betting activity for our partners.”

David Natroshvili, Managing Partner at Spribe, added, “We’re excited with our new partnership with Digitain, and we are sure their operators and their players will be thrilled with the unrivalled experience of that our games have to offer.”

“Turbo or Fast Games are a new category of casino game that allows operators to engage the millennial and generation z demographics and engage them with content that is fun, social and allows them to bet on their ability to beat the game and cash out at the right moment.”

We feel honoured and delighted to have received another prestigious award for our Sports Betting Platform and the many teams who work so hard to make it the successful solution it is.

The Baltic and Scandinavian Gaming Awards 2022 named us the Best Sports Betting Provider in the Nordic region at the ceremony which took place in Tallin in May 2022.

Simon Westbury, Digitain’s Chief Business Officer commented, “It is wonderful to receive industry recognition for such an important element of our product portfolio. It will encourage us to do even more to improve the player experience and to always expand, develop and provide our partners with even more improved iGaming solutions. Congratulations to the Digitain team for their continued efforts to excel. Many thanks also to the Baltic and Scandinavian Gaming Awards for this award.”

About DIGITAIN

DIGITAIN is a sportsbook and casino platform provider offering best of breed turn-key and API solutions. The company’s primary focus is on the regulated European market, with ambitious plans to expand its geographical footprint into the Americas and Asia. It employs more than 700 of the brightest trading minds in the gaming industry (part of a wider workforce of over 1,700 staff) with the aim of providing a one-stop-shop for its customers.

The multi-channel Digitain Gaming Platform allows operators to plug-in sportsbook, casino, live dealer and virtual sports modules, and includes an integrated payment gateway, bonus engine, CRM system and dedicated customer support. Its sportsbook product covers 100 sports, taking in 15,000 leagues, and offers more than 3,000 betting markets. It also offers odds on 90,000 live events each month, while its casino solution has 10,000-plus games from major casino suppliers such as Novomatic, Microgaming, NetEnt and Yggdrasil.

Digitain is delighted to announce that we were honoured with the award of Esports Supplier of the Year at the SBC Summit Latinoamérica, which took place in Miami on 3rd November 2022.

SBC Summit Latinoamérica is the conference and trade show for senior executives in the Latin American betting and gaming industry. The event brought together the leadership teams and product specialists from retail and online operators in markets including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and many others to share information about best practice, launching in new territories, localized marketing strategies, and the latest technology.

Simon Westbury, Digitain’s Chief Business Officer, commented,

“We are delighted and honoured to receive the award of eSports Supplier of the Year from SBC Summit Latinoamérica 2022.

This award is a great recognition of the efforts of the team behind the development and operation of this exciting, progressive product that is popular with our partners players globally. Congratulations to them and all the other winners at this great event.”

About DIGITAIN

DIGITAIN is a sportsbook and casino platform provider offering best of breed turn-key and API solutions. The company’s primary focus is on the regulated European market, with ambitious plans to expand its geographical footprint into the Americas and Asia. It employs more than 700 of the brightest trading minds in the gaming industry (part of a wider workforce of over 1,700 staff) with the aim of providing a one-stop-shop for its customers.

The multi-channel Digitain Gaming Platform allows operators to plug-in sportsbook, casino, live dealer and virtual sports modules, and includes an integrated payment gateway, bonus engine, CRM system and dedicated customer support. Its sportsbook product covers 100 sports, taking in 15,000 leagues, and offers more than 3,000 betting markets. It also offers odds on 90,000 live events each month, while its casino solution has 10,000-plus games from major casino suppliers such as Novomatic, Microgaming, NetEnt and Yggdrasil.

Digitain, a leader in iGaming software solutions is pleased to announce that they have agreed a deal with Gaming Corp to add their captivating collection of casino games to the Digitain partner network.

For Digitain, Ashot Sahakyan, International Relations Director, said, “We’re delighted to welcome Gaming Corp to the Digitain platform. They are a highly creative and innovative studio with an exciting and engaging portfolio of games. I’m confident that Gaming Corp’s comprehensive range of casino games will be hugely popular with our partners and their players.”

Mats Lundin, Gaming Corp CCO explains, “Partnering with a company that has the pedigree and reach that Digitain offers is another big step forward in our journey. Gaming Corps is certainly in a growth phase with the diversity of our portfolio being a driving factor in our commercial success. We see an exciting future with this partnership and my thanks to the Digitain team for their support in making this happen.”

About DIGITAIN

DIGITAIN is a sportsbook and casino platform provider offering best of breed turn-key and API solutions. The company’s primary focus is on the regulated European market, with ambitious plans to expand its geographical footprint into the Americas and Asia. It employs more than 700 of the brightest trading minds in the gaming industry (part of a wider workforce of over 2,000 staff) with the aim of providing a one-stop-shop for its customers.

The multi-channel Digitain Gaming Platform allows operators to plug-in sportsbook, casino, live dealer and virtual sports modules, and includes an integrated payment gateway, bonus engine, CRM system and dedicated customer support. Its sportsbook product covers 100 sports, taking in 15,000 leagues, and offers more than 3,000 betting markets. It also offers odds on 90,000 live events each month, while its casino solution has 10,000-plus games from major casino suppliers such as Novomatic, Microgaming, NetEnt and Yggdrasil.